Minor Feelings: A Reckoning on Race and the Asian Condition
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Cathy Park Hong
- ISBN：1788165594
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Summary
A New York Times Top Book of 2020
Chosen as a Guardian Book of 2020
A BBC Culture Best Books of 2020
Nominated for Good Reads Books of 2020
One of Time's Must-Read Books of 2020
'Unputdownable 。。。 Hong's razor-sharp， provocative prose will linger long after you put Minor Feelings down' - AnOther， Books You Should Read This Year
'A fearless work of creative non-fiction about racism in cultural pursuits by an award-winning poet and essayist' - Asia House
'Brilliant， penetrating and unforgettable， Minor Feelings is what was missing on our shelf of classics 。。。 To read this book is to become more human' - Claudia Rankine author of Citizen
'Hong says the book was 'a dare to herself'， and she makes good on it: by writing into the heart of her own discomfort， she emerges with a reckoning destined to be a classic' - Maggie Nelson， author of The Argonauts
What happens when an immigrant believes the lies they're told about their own racial identity？
For Cathy Park Hong， they experience the shame and difficulty of "minor feelings"。
The daughter of Korean immigrants， Cathy Park Hong grew up in America steeped in shame， suspicion， and melancholy。 She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality。 With sly humour and a poet's searching mind， Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness。 This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language， to shame and depression， to poetry and artmaking， and to family and female friendship。 A radically honest work of art， Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche - and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth。
Chosen as a Guardian Book of 2020
A BBC Culture Best Books of 2020
Nominated for Good Reads Books of 2020
One of Time's Must-Read Books of 2020
'Unputdownable 。。。 Hong's razor-sharp， provocative prose will linger long after you put Minor Feelings down' - AnOther， Books You Should Read This Year
'A fearless work of creative non-fiction about racism in cultural pursuits by an award-winning poet and essayist' - Asia House
'Brilliant， penetrating and unforgettable， Minor Feelings is what was missing on our shelf of classics 。。。 To read this book is to become more human' - Claudia Rankine author of Citizen
'Hong says the book was 'a dare to herself'， and she makes good on it: by writing into the heart of her own discomfort， she emerges with a reckoning destined to be a classic' - Maggie Nelson， author of The Argonauts
What happens when an immigrant believes the lies they're told about their own racial identity？
For Cathy Park Hong， they experience the shame and difficulty of "minor feelings"。
The daughter of Korean immigrants， Cathy Park Hong grew up in America steeped in shame， suspicion， and melancholy。 She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality。 With sly humour and a poet's searching mind， Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness。 This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language， to shame and depression， to poetry and artmaking， and to family and female friendship。 A radically honest work of art， Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche - and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth。
Reviews
Isabelle | Nine Tale Vixen
，
RTC
Jill Jacob-Cabrera
，
This is an important book that talks aboutthe Asian-American second generation immigrant experience。 This talks about historical racism， the model minority myth and also white tears。 I think there is a portion of this book--the anecdote of the author's college experience-- that was not directly relevant to the topic。 I would like to read more and write more about this book and its topics。 This is an important book that talks aboutthe Asian-American second generation immigrant experience。 This talks about historical racism， the model minority myth and also white tears。 I think there is a portion of this book--the anecdote of the author's college experience-- that was not directly relevant to the topic。 I would like to read more and write more about this book and its topics。 。。。more
Susan
，
Continuing my （very interesting） effort to read books about inequality and inherent bias - this book was recommended by a friend and I highly recommend it。 Beautifully written （author is a poet） and insightful。 Gave me a lot to think about and covers a range of feelings and issues。 Especially of interest to me was the section about accents， non-English speakers in our communities， and the losses inquired when people lose their childhood and family language。
Rachel Best
，
4。5 stars。 Almost too painful to read。
Annie Lee
，
Cathy captures so many Asian American sentiments that I couldn’t put words to。 Loved it but at times， it was pretty heavy。 So many great quotes that I highlighted in this book。
Megan
，
But where does the silence that neglects her end， and where does the silence that respects her begin？ The problem with silence is that it can’t speak up and say why it’s silent。 And so silence collects， becomes amplified， takes on a life outside our intentions， in that silence can get misread as indifference， or avoidance， or even shame， and eventually this silence passes over into forgetting。What a quote。
Hubert
，
Richly textured， divergent， touches on so so many issues， the arts， poetry， Asian-American history， imperialism， and personal issues too， including family， depression， dear friendships yet fraught with instability。 Worth rereading。
Liz
，
This book reaches toward multiple themes and topics with arguable levels of success。 As a reader， there were moments when I felt jolted between chapters about 90s college life and then a horrific crime and then a personal anecdote and then a summary of statistics。 And yet。 Every word in every chapter felt cherry-picked。 I am fascinated by the way Hong arranges phrases （it's the poetry！） and weaves the aforementioned elements。 This book isn't trying to be a novel or even an essay collection or an This book reaches toward multiple themes and topics with arguable levels of success。 As a reader， there were moments when I felt jolted between chapters about 90s college life and then a horrific crime and then a personal anecdote and then a summary of statistics。 And yet。 Every word in every chapter felt cherry-picked。 I am fascinated by the way Hong arranges phrases （it's the poetry！） and weaves the aforementioned elements。 This book isn't trying to be a novel or even an essay collection or anything else， and so it becomes a revelation。 More importantly， Hong presents perspective and commentary that is perhaps more urgent now than ever。Highlights for future Liz: "Innocence is both a privilege and a cognitive handicap， a sheltered unknowingness that， once protracted into adulthood， hardens into entitlement。。。 For to be aware of history， they would be forced to be held accountable， and rather than face that shame， they'd rather， by any means necessary， maintain their innocence。" "One has an overwhelming desire to eat what is cute， writes Sianne Ngai， and therefore cuteness is ideal for mass commodification because of its consumability。" "We must make right this unequal distribution but we must do so without forgetting the immeasurable value of cultural exchange in what Hyde calls the gift economy。 In reacting against the market economy， we have internalized market logic where culture is hoarded as if it's a product that will depreciate in value if shared with others; where instead of decolonizing English， we are carving up English into hostile nation-states。" 。。。more
Sanjida
，
I found parts of this profound and thought-provoking， and other parts， like long sections in the middle about artists friends and the art community， uninteresting to me。 The thoughts come across as deliberately unfinished， waiting for an epiphany that doesn't come。 I found parts of this profound and thought-provoking， and other parts， like long sections in the middle about artists friends and the art community， uninteresting to me。 The thoughts come across as deliberately unfinished， waiting for an epiphany that doesn't come。 。。。more
Warren
，
A series of essays related to the Asian American experience， Hong writes from her own experience， and opens the door wide to a much deeper exploration of what it means to be Asian American in the U。S。 She combines research， personal narrative， analysis and arts criticism in a way that is similar to the style of Claudia Rankine， whom she thanks in the acknowledgements。 And like Rankine， Hong is an established poet who shows she is equally adept at writing a profound essay。
Louise
，
This was every bit as good as everyone said。 I was worried that it would be too much navel gazing， and yes， there is some of that， but some of it was me gazing at my own navel。It's amazing that this book was written before the recent uprising of anti-Asian hate， but I suppose it's not that surprising since it's not like anti-Asian hate never occurred before this year。 Hong puts words to a lot of situations I sometimes find myself in。 Because of this， some of the essays are hard to read because i This was every bit as good as everyone said。 I was worried that it would be too much navel gazing， and yes， there is some of that， but some of it was me gazing at my own navel。It's amazing that this book was written before the recent uprising of anti-Asian hate， but I suppose it's not that surprising since it's not like anti-Asian hate never occurred before this year。 Hong puts words to a lot of situations I sometimes find myself in。 Because of this， some of the essays are hard to read because it's so relatable that it makes it painful。Hong's skills as poet really shine through in these essays。 The words and phrases are carefully chosen and some sections read less like prose and more like poetry。 I couldn't relate to the Oberlin parts as much， but could understand why she put those in there。This and Wilkerson's Caste are perfect companion books to each other。 。。。more
C。E。 G
，
Highly recommend these essays。 A few quotes I copied down:The ethnic literary project has always been a humanist project in which nonwhite writers must prove that they are human beings who feel pain。。。 I don't think， therefore I am - I hurt， therefore I am。 Therefore， my books are graded on a pain scale。 If it's a 2， maybe it's not worth telling my story。 If it's a 10， maybe my book will be a bestseller。 Innocence is， as Bernstein writes， not just an "absence of knowledge" but "an active state of Highly recommend these essays。 A few quotes I copied down:The ethnic literary project has always been a humanist project in which nonwhite writers must prove that they are human beings who feel pain。。。 I don't think， therefore I am - I hurt， therefore I am。 Therefore， my books are graded on a pain scale。 If it's a 2， maybe it's not worth telling my story。 If it's a 10， maybe my book will be a bestseller。 Innocence is， as Bernstein writes， not just an "absence of knowledge" but "an active state of repelling knowledge，" embroiled in the statement， "Well I don't see race" where I eclipses the seeing。 Innocence is both a privilege and a cognitive handicap， a sheltered unknowingness that， once protracted into adulthood， hardens into entitlement。 Innocence is not just sexual deflection but a deflection of one's position in the socioeconomic hierarchy， based on the confidence that one is "unmarked" and "free to be you and me。" The ironic result of this innocence， writes the scholar Charles Mills， is that whites are "unable to understand the world that they themselves have made。" 。。。more
Leah Boylan
，
In this book of fairly short essays， Hong traverses racism， art， history （personal， national， international）， and psychology to skillfully to share engaging stories from her life and others’。 I expected a book akin to So You Want To Talk About Race that I read late last year but it was quite different from it。 I found this book to be a lot more vulnerable and bare， Hong sharing a lot of very personal， raw emotion with her readers。 This made it so powerful。
Jay
，
Beautifully crafted， incredibly insightful， and poetic in its prose， I highly recommend this book of hard-hitting essays。
Tutankhamun18
，
//4。5//A special collection of essays about bwing an Asian American Artist （poetry） and what that means in the everyday， the art world and within history。 My favourite essay was An Education closely followed by The Indebted， but all of the essays were interesting to read。 Biggest impact point on me:Racial self hatred （minority） vs。 Ignorance and entitlement of whites。“Racial self-hatred is seeing yourself in the way that whites see you， which turns you into your own worst enemy。 Your only defens //4。5//A special collection of essays about bwing an Asian American Artist （poetry） and what that means in the everyday， the art world and within history。 My favourite essay was An Education closely followed by The Indebted， but all of the essays were interesting to read。 Biggest impact point on me:Racial self hatred （minority） vs。 Ignorance and entitlement of whites。“Racial self-hatred is seeing yourself in the way that whites see you， which turns you into your own worst enemy。 Your only defense is to be hard on yourself， which becomes compulsive， and therefore a comfort， to peck yourself to death。。。 Instead of solidarity， you feel that you are less than around other Asians， the boundaries of yourself no longer distinct but congealed into a horde。”“Innocence is， as Bernstein writes， not just an “absence of knowledge”， but “an active state of repelling knowledge” embroiled in the statement， “Well I dont see race” where I eclipses the seeing。 Innocence is both a privilege and a cognitive handicap， a sheltered unknowingness that， once protracted into adulthood， hardens into entitlement。”I liked the bits where she shares glimpses into her poetry and craft and reveals what her influences are。The way that white men get away with things as interesting in art in ways that minorities including even white women， may not:“The avant-garde genealogy could be tracked through stories of bad boy white artists who “got away with it”， beginning with Dumchamp signing a urinal and calling it art。 It’s about defying standards and initiating a precendent that ultimately liberates art from itself。 The artist liberates the art object from the rules of mastery， then from content， then frees the art object from what Martin Heidegger calls its very thingliness， until it becomes enfolded into life itself。 Stripped of the artwork， all we are left with is the artists’ activities。 The problem is that history has to recognise the artist’s transgression as art， which is then dependent on the artists access to power。 A female artist rarely “gets away with it”。 A black artist rarely “gets away with it”。 Like the rich boarding school kid whi gets away with a hit-and-run， getting away with it doesnt mean you’re lawless but that you are above the law。 The bad-boy artist can do whatever he wants because of who he is。 Transgressive bad-boy art is， in fact， the most risk-averse， an endless loop of warmedover stunts for an audience of one: the banker collector。”Silence as respect vs as a way to forget:“But where does the silence that neglects her end， and where does the silence that respects her begin？ The problem with silence is that it can’t speak up and say why its silent。 And so silence collects， becomes amplified， takes on a life outside our intentions， in that silence can get misread as indifference， or aboidance， or even shame， and eventually this silence passes over into forgetting。”Being the descendent of an immigrant who experienced intense hardships and the context of indebtedness:“ I could begin writing about buying flowers from the corner deli， but give me enough pages — two， twenty， or one hundred— and no matter what， violence will saturate my imagination。。。 I write down my daily routine that is so routine it allows me the freedom to ruminate。 At what cost do I have this life？ 。。。 I didn’t live theough any of it， but I’m still a descendent of those who had no time to recover; who had no time， nor permission， to reflect。。。 I can’t entirely renounce the condition of indebtedness。”I think if I had edited this， I would have ordered the essays differently。 The indebted， united， the end of white innocence， portrait of an artist， an education， bad english and stand up。 So this would mean we start with history and trauma and its effect on people， how white supremacy impacts minorities and how white people engage or do not engage， then 2 chapters on the artists own craft and experience as an artist and finally ending with how comedy can belittle or highlight these minor feelings and what the author learnt from comedy。 。。。more
Helen Ho
，
I wanted to like this。。。but I didn't continue the book after a few chapters。 I didn't like that Hong was both telling and interpreting history。 As someone who has thought deeply about what happened in East and South East Asian in the 20th century， I wanted more nuance on the way she told history， because there's so much context and complexity to what happened in the last few generations。 People immigrated to America for different reasons - some political refuges and others economic migrants。 Sen I wanted to like this。。。but I didn't continue the book after a few chapters。 I didn't like that Hong was both telling and interpreting history。 As someone who has thought deeply about what happened in East and South East Asian in the 20th century， I wanted more nuance on the way she told history， because there's so much context and complexity to what happened in the last few generations。 People immigrated to America for different reasons - some political refuges and others economic migrants。 Sentences like this， "I thought of Asians throughout history being dragged against their will， driven or chased out of their native homes， out of their adopted homes， out of their native country， out of their adopted country: ejected， evicted， exiled，" are too generalized。 I know sentences like these are meant to be poetic， speaking to Hong's personal experiences and feelings， but I find it contradicting that Hong points out how the Chinese experience is different than the Korean experience and yet uses "we" to describe how Asian Americans might think and feel。 。。。more
Lydia Ahn
，
The most amazing life changing book。 Cried through all of it
Tenli
，
Incisive， direct， and so beautifully written。
Kalea
，
I loved Minor Feelings。 Cathy Park Hong is an incredible and honest writer。 I feltjoy， sadness， reflection， and curiosity while reading this book。 She brings us along as she works through her own processing of her family’s history/experience of violence （and what ownership she has of that suffering considering her privilege today） and her own definition of the self in the context of Asian America and US imperialism。 Park Hong ponders the power and danger of silence （especially as an instrument i I loved Minor Feelings。 Cathy Park Hong is an incredible and honest writer。 I feltjoy， sadness， reflection， and curiosity while reading this book。 She brings us along as she works through her own processing of her family’s history/experience of violence （and what ownership she has of that suffering considering her privilege today） and her own definition of the self in the context of Asian America and US imperialism。 Park Hong ponders the power and danger of silence （especially as an instrument in poetry and in relation to suffering）; shame; white innocence and entitlement; and this idea of indebtedness/containment of the Asian American and also immigrant。 I really loved the ending， which was sobering and empowering at the same time。 Minor Feelings is not the be-all-end-all book for making sense of the Asian American consciousness but the starting point - she gives us so many resources， artists， and histories to think about and explore。 This book reminded me of the James Baldwin quote: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world， but then you read。” 。。。more
Joey
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 • I treat good fortune not as a gift but a loan that I will have to pay back in weekly installments of bad luck。 I bet I’m like this because I was raised wrong—browbeaten to perform compulsory gratitude。 Thank you for sacrificing your life for me！ In return， I will sacrifice my life for you！• The problem with silence is that it can’t speak up and say why it’s silent。 And so silence collects， becomes amplified， takes on a life outside our intentions， in that silence can get misread as indifferenc • I treat good fortune not as a gift but a loan that I will have to pay back in weekly installments of bad luck。 I bet I’m like this because I was raised wrong—browbeaten to perform compulsory gratitude。 Thank you for sacrificing your life for me！ In return， I will sacrifice my life for you！• The problem with silence is that it can’t speak up and say why it’s silent。 And so silence collects， becomes amplified， takes on a life outside our intentions， in that silence can get misread as indifference， or avoidance， or even shame， and eventually this silence passes over into forgetting。• to speak of pain would not only retraumatize me but traumatize everyone I love， as if words are not a cure but a poison that will infect others• I was raised by a kind of love that was so inextricable from pain that I fear that once I air that love， it will oxidize to betrayal。• Contempt will be used sparingly in a democratic society lest it undermine solidarity， whereas it will be used frequently and with approbation in a hierarchically organized society in order to maintain distance between individuals， classes， and nations。 In a democratic society， contempt will often be replaced by empathic shame， in which the critic hangs his head in shame at what the other has done; or by distress， in which the critic expresses his suffering at what the other has done; or by anger， in which the critic seeks redress for the wrongs committed by the other• Innocence is both a privilege and a cognitive handicap， a sheltered unknowingness that， once protracted into adulthood， hardens into entitlement。• Writing about race is a polemic， in that we must confront the white capitalist infrastructure that has erased us， but also a lyric， in that our inner consciousness is knotted with contradictions。• Patiently educating a clueless white person about race is draining。 It takes all your powers of persuasion。 Because it’s more than a chat about race。 It’s ontological。 It’s like explaining to a person why you exist， or why you feel pain， or why your reality is distinct from their reality。 Except it’s even trickier than that。 Because the person has all of Western history， politics， literature， and mass culture on their side， proving that you don’t exist。• But while I may look impassive， I am frantically paddling my feet underwater， always overcompensating to hide my devouring feelings of inadequacy。• My confidence was impoverished from a lifelong diet of conditional love and a society who thinks I’m as interchangeable as lint。 。。。more
Anika
，
4 stars // review to come！
Yuki Davidoff
，
During this time of racial acknowledgment in America， and finding our place in it， this book was exactly what I needed to read。 As a biracial Japanese Jewish American， this book put words to my own minor feelings and put sentences to common themes that I didn't know were themes for other Asian Americans。 This was a much-needed read。 During this time of racial acknowledgment in America， and finding our place in it， this book was exactly what I needed to read。 As a biracial Japanese Jewish American， this book put words to my own minor feelings and put sentences to common themes that I didn't know were themes for other Asian Americans。 This was a much-needed read。 。。。more
Alison Phanthavong
，
Ok so I blazed through this in a day—it is required reading。 Like， please read this book， stat。 Hong grounds her exploration of identity in specific historical accounts and deeply personal stories， and she embraces the contradictions and paradoxes that arise in attempting to define an Asian American experience with an inspiring degree of self-awareness。
Czarina Lim
，
I'm not sure I've cried more reading a book。 This one cracked me wide open。 Thank you Cathy for putting into words how I have felt my entire life。 Thank you for the quick history lessons in which I knew on the periphery but of what I didn't know details。 Thank you for hitting it all right on the head。 I'm not sure I've cried more reading a book。 This one cracked me wide open。 Thank you Cathy for putting into words how I have felt my entire life。 Thank you for the quick history lessons in which I knew on the periphery but of what I didn't know details。 Thank you for hitting it all right on the head。 。。。more
Kate
，
If you read one book for Asian-Pacific Heritage Month， this should be the one。 Cathy Park-Hong's powerful essays shed light on the Asian American experience in America in recent times， combining history， stories of racism， the search for identity， the role of the Asian American artist and the direction Asian American identity is going today。 This book is very thought-provoking and there were several times I stopped to note something down。 Park Hong's gifts as a poet are obvious， and I hope this If you read one book for Asian-Pacific Heritage Month， this should be the one。 Cathy Park-Hong's powerful essays shed light on the Asian American experience in America in recent times， combining history， stories of racism， the search for identity， the role of the Asian American artist and the direction Asian American identity is going today。 This book is very thought-provoking and there were several times I stopped to note something down。 Park Hong's gifts as a poet are obvious， and I hope this book will be the beginning of more and more Asian American writers and artists expressing themselves on their own terms and writing what they want to write。 I also appreciated reading this book with a lovely group of thoughtful and intelligent women。 This one will stick with me。 。。。more
Mia Radic
，
“。。。to live an ethical life is to be held accountable to history” ！！！
MCZ Reads
，
I really enjoyed these essays。 The author's background in poetry shines in the writing; if you're a reader who annotates， most pages should be marked up with powerful quotes。 The material about the complexity of Asian-American identity， both on an individual scale and how it fits in the broader discussion of antiracism， is the strongest element in the book。The essays take a turn toward memoir halfway through the book。 I appreciated the memoir content， but it is much less focused than the opening I really enjoyed these essays。 The author's background in poetry shines in the writing; if you're a reader who annotates， most pages should be marked up with powerful quotes。 The material about the complexity of Asian-American identity， both on an individual scale and how it fits in the broader discussion of antiracism， is the strongest element in the book。The essays take a turn toward memoir halfway through the book。 I appreciated the memoir content， but it is much less focused than the opening essays。 The personal essays have to be read in this arranged order because there are elements that begin in one and end in another--some of the later essays don't feel like they can stand alone。 It made me want more from the collection， but also I now want to read more from this author。 。。。more
Dani Hoisington
，
A beautiful and important read。 I love Hong’s frank but elegant storytelling。 I can’t wait to read more from her。
Rosalind
，
SO GOOD。
Trisha
，